California Vacation

Brad and I packed the kids up in the van and headed over to southern California for a week to see my family. This is what we did:

Overnight in St. George
We stopped in St. George for the night to give the kids a break after driving 4 hours in the car. We brought out Lizzy's brand new bathing suit and went swimming in the hotel pool. Lizzy had never been in a pool before.

She liked splashing with Papa and snuggling with Mama.

Emma was very pleased to wear her new orange goggles.

We had dinner at Iceberg. Lizzy loved the ice cream.

Mmmm, mmm, good!


Our First Evening in California

Lizzy loved playing the piano with her Aunt Rachel. She enjoyed hitting the keys and clapping her hands.

Susie got back from her long Big Bear bike ride not long after we arrived.

Emma loved the new hat her Aunt Susie made for her.

Off to the park we went!

Lizzy's Birthday Party
We had Lizzy's party on Sunday night.

Lizzy got a cute little brush and comb set from her Great Great Aunt Ruth. She enjoyed brushing her tongue with it.

Happy Birthday, Lizzy!

Disneyland

Brad, Scott, Emma, and I went to Disneyland on Monday, leaving Lizzy with her grandma for the day. Craig, Rachel, Susie, and Krista joined us later in the evening.

We spotted Alice and the Mad Hatter as soon as we arrived! We had to get autographs and pictures.

We found a few other characters to get autographs from, too.

We went on the Finding Nemo submarine ride for the first time. I liked it much better than the original ride from when I was a kid.

Scott wanted to watch the Jedi Training Academy during lunch before heading over to Star Tours.

Scott's a tauntaun in this picture.

"You're weird, Mama."

We rested our feet in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Room...

then we went on a few rides.

We joined the rest of the group for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

After dinner we had to stop at Scott's favorite store: The Lego Store.

We spotted a few pixelated friends.

We had a fun-filled evening afterward going on our favorite rides again and watching fireworks. Scott went on the Indiana Jones for the first time and loved it! Emma kept her eyes closed for half of the rides and said she didn't like them because she couldn't see them. Her favorite ride was Thunder Mountain Railroad, perhaps because she kept her eyes open.

Feeding Bunnies at Long Beach City College

On Tuesday we headed over to one of our favorite spots to feed rabbits. We try to go every time we have the kids with us on our Long Beach trips.

Lizzy sees one!

Swimming at Rachel & Craig's Condo

Brad and the kids enjoyed swimming at Rachel & Craig's condo Tuesday night.

The Aquarium of the Pacific

Wednesday we headed over to the Aquarium in downtown Long Beach.

Brad and I got to pet bamboo sharks and rays. Scott and Emma were too afraid to touch them.

We fed the lorikeets.

We saw lots of neat underwater creatures.

We had to walk around the bay to see the Queen Mary and the lighthouse.

Huntington Beach

Thursday was our beach day. We headed over to one of our favorite beaches and enjoyed an hour of lovely sun and salty seawater. Lizzy loved playing in the sand and getting wet.

Saying Goodbye

My least favorite part about going on vacation to see family is saying goodbye. It was a fun trip, but like all vacations, it was too short. I love my family! Hope to see you again soon!